A well-executed Sales Process Engineering initiative can generate an 8-12% annua
A well-executed Sales Process Engineering initiative can generate an 8-12% annual, incremental increase in sales performance per sales rep. As noted earlier, this is above and beyond the impact of new products and services, a strong economy, etc.
Introduction
Many who have been successful in sales are leery of becoming involved with something that sounds so highly technical and arcane. To them, “Sales Process Engineering” seems like something that should be restricted to an academic environment or might possibly apply to the “real world”, but only for some huge organization. In reality, SPE takes one of the hallmarks of successful selling – persistence – and elevates it to a whole new level of effectiveness. It takes the cliché, “plan your work and work your plan,” and transforms it from slogan to powerful technique to ensure continuous improvement. It applies to the sales force of thousands, to the “lone ranger” rep of a start-up company and to everyone in between.
Let’s take a few steps back. There can be no doubt that Process Engineering principles are proven. GE attributes a savings of $8 billion over the last three years to Six Sigma. ([1] See note) Dow Chemical calculates an average cost reduction $500,000 per project to it. Dell estimates that it took $2.4 million out of its Accounts Payable process. Wellmark reduced the time to add a new doctor to its medical plans from 65+ days to 30 or less, and was also able to reduce the headcount required to do it. Whether it’s Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, Just-In-Time, Mistake-Proofing or any of the other process engineering disciplines, the prodigious contributions to the productivity gains of American business are undeniable.
But Sales is different…
Really? It should, in fact, be surprising (maybe embarrassing?) that sales executives have avoided (resisted?) applying the collective wisdom of Deming, Juran, Hammer, Crosby, Goldratt, Senge, Davenport, etc. If these principles work with near-astonishing effectiveness for Manufacturing, Operations, Administration, Customer Service, Information Technology, Human Resources, Procurement and Logistics, why would it not work for Sales?
Surely, Sales is different. Of all business processes, Sales is the one that most closely approaches “Art” vs. “Science”. It truly is challenging to apply Process Engineering. That is why the magnitude of the potential competitive advantage from doing it is so compelling.
With Sales Process Engineering, the sales executive can reduce cycle time, wasted time, rework, scrap, work-in-process and the negative impact of dependencies. Constraints can be eliminated. The “Hawthorne Effect” can be harnessed. ([2] See Note) Quality can be increased and best practices, metrics and statistical process control can be exploited.
So how does one get started? First, mentally commit to the continuous implementation of better sales practices. (How can you object to that idea?) Next, recognize the need to maintain that commitment for t